


A Hop, Skip, and a Shunshin From Sunshine

by kitsunegir100



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:28:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25184038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitsunegir100/pseuds/kitsunegir100
Summary: The Fourth Great Shinobi War lasted for six long years in Uzumaki Naruto's original timeline. The number of shinobi was reduced to less than a handful, and the rest were seconds from being wiped out by Otsutsuki Kaguya and her army. Naruto uses a incomplete seal to go back in time to save his precious people, and hopefully the rest of the world, too.
Relationships: Future!Uzumaki Naruto & Uchiha Itachi, Future!Uzumaki Naruto/Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura & Hatake Kakashi & Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 22
Kudos: 205





	1. Chapter 1

Six years. That’s how long the war lasted. Six years ago, all hell broke loose throughout the entire Shinobi world. Uzumaki Naruto leapt from tree to tree, racing against time to get back to the Allied Shinobi Forces’ last standing base. Three years ago, he had been so, _so_ naive to think that as long as the Five Great Nations worked together, they’d be able to defeat any enemy. Naruto had believed that _he’d_ be able to defeat any enemy, what with Team 7 back together and his comrades at his back. He was wrong. There was one base left, and what, six, seven? Shinobi left fighting. The rest had either died in Otsutsuki Kaguya’s onslaught or given up and went into hiding. He reached the base, and immediately headed towards the stairs that lead to the cellar.

“Is it done?” he asked. Sakura and Kakashi looked up from where they were finishing up the last of the seal.

“Yeah,” Sakura said. Naruto had picked Sakura and Kakashi specifically (not that he had much of a selection to choose from) for their sharp mind and foundation in fuuinjutsu respectively, to draw the seal while he held off Kaguya’s forces with Sasuke.

“Sasuke is still holding them off?” Kakashi asked, his eyes sharp, but not accusing. Naruto’s face twisted. He had left Sasuke at the front lines alone, much to his chagrin, but it needed to be done. Sasuke would never forgive him if Naruto wasted more time on him and lost the chance to fix everything.

“Yeah,” he said shakily. “As far as I know.” He shook his head, focusing on the seal on the ground, giving it a once over to make sure it was correct. Well, as correct as an unfinished seal could be. Naruto had spent the last two years developing this seal, but still hadn’t finished it. However, they had run out of time.

There was an explosion at the front of the building. Naruto locked eyes with Sakura and Kakashi. If the fight had reached there already, then that meant… no, Naruto refused to believe it.

“You need to go,” Sakura said. She and Kakashi went to stand at opposite sides of the seal. Naruto closed his eyes, allowing a moment of grief for his ~~fallen~~ friend. Naruto knew that the two of them knew what to do, as they had gone over the plan thousands of times, but repeated the instructions anyway.

“Both of you only need to release a little chakra to activate the seal,” Naruto reminded them, “The rest of the chakra that is needed will be taken from me, the person going back.” They both nodded. The explosions were getting closer. Naruto smiled sadly at what was left of his team. Sakura and Kakashi shared a glance, and laid their palms on the seal, releasing a burst of chakra simultaneously. Naruto let out a scream, intense pain rippling through him as the seal tore his chakra from him. He collapsed to his knees, breathing hard as he felt his chakra continue to be drained. Sakura had shut her eyes and turned away, but Kakashi kept his eyes on Naruto, his gaze steady and firm, just like the man himself had been towards Naruto during the last few years. The seal glowed gold, then sparked for a second, flickering. All three shinobi held their breath, and then the light stabilized, and was enveloping Naruto’s body. All three of them breathed a sigh of relief. It was working. Naruto looked down and yelped in excitement as he saw his legs turning into golden light. Sakura snorted. No matter what happened, Naruto still carried that tiny bit of carefree, happy sunshine with him. It had dimmed during the long years of wartime, but it was there.

“Remember Naruto,” Sakura said, “Try not to come into contact with your younger self. I know you want to, but we have no idea what the consequences could be.” Naruto grimaced. It was something they had all agreed on. Messing with time was something that should not be taken lightly. Just by going back, he was interrupting the flow of the space time continuum. If he were to bump into his past self, the consequences could be huge.

As Naruto felt more and more chakra flow out of him, the barest hint of Kurama’s chakra stirred. The Kyuubi had gone dormant a little while ago from severe chakra exhaustion, occasionally stirring to check on Naruto, but otherwise silent. It was strange for Naruto, to not have a sarcastic, prickly commentator in his head at all times, but Kurama deserved some rest.

The golden light had reached Naruto’s neck when Sasuke burst in, multiple wounds gushing blood, and a hand that was _definitely_ broken, but alive. Sasuke was alive, and had a terrified look in his eyes, unusual for the normally stoic Uchiha. The terror eased when he saw Naruto had already activated the seal and was on his way.

“I held them off for as long as I could, but Kaguya made an appearance. She has a bijuudama aimed towards here, ready to fire.” It was Naruto’s turn to look terrified.

“Sasuke, what about your Susanoo?” he asked desperately, even as his head began to disappear. Sasuke shook his head.

“I’m out of chakra. This is the end.” Naruto’s heart squeezed painfully. They heard the telltale sound of a bijuudama being fired and Sasuke closed his eyes.

“Good luck, Naruto,” Sasuke said. Sakura and Kakashi went to stand by him, looking resigned to their fate. The last thing Naruto saw before the golden light took him completely was the room exploding, and he closed his eyes before he could see his friends’ gruesome death.

-

Naruto opened his eyes to see familiar scenes flickering by. The start of the war, the waterfall where Naruto had come to peace with himself, glimpses of his journey with Jiraiya, his graduation from the Academy, and finally, the Kyuubi attack. Time restarted again, Naruto dropped out of the sky unceremoniously with a flash of golden light.

-

The Kyuubi no Kitsune thrashed in the chains that Uzumaki Kushina had put him in. As Namikaze Minato prepared to seal the beast, suddenly, the beast's claw shot towards the defenseless baby with golden hair and whiskers. There was a heartbeat, and then, a drop of blood dripped onto the baby's stomach. As the two young parents prepared to say goodbye to their precious son, a blinding light enveloped the forest area. When it died, a blond haired man with whiskers on his cheeks and oldtiredweary eyes gazed at them.  
Immediately, Kushina shouted and gathered her chakra, but Minato stopped her, staring at the man. The man glanced around, his eyes sad, but not surprised. When they finally rested on the two shinobi, the deep cerulean blue softened, and his mouth tilted in a small smile.

"Hello, Okaa-san. Otou-san."

-

If he was being honest with himself, Naruto was greatly disappointed. He had not made it in time to save his parents, nor gone back far enough to prevent Madara from taking Obito.

"Naruto." Naruto watched his father, dipping his head as his only response to his name. Kushina's eyes were wide and teary as she took in his features, and the many scars and injuries that littered his body.

“N-naruto?” Kushina said, her lip trembling. Naruto smiled, his heart warming in a way that only his mother could make it.

“You don’t have much time. Seal the other half of the Kyuubi in me. The chakra will merge with the Kyuubi already in me. There’s no need to condemn yourself to hell.” Minato agreed, and Naruto felt Kurama stir as the chakra flowed back into him. Naruto watched the rest of the Kyuubi disappear into his younger self. Suddenly the golden light enveloped Naruto’s body again, and Naruto sucked in a breath, eyes widening in shock. Did the seal malfunction? Naruto wondered. He turned back, desperate to talk to his parents one last time, but in a flash of light, he was gone again.

-

The seal deposited Naruto just outside Konoha this time. Naruto sat up, feeling overwhelmed. He had just seen his entire team die, and then his parents die in the time span of less than thirty minutes. He pushed it all aside though. Naruto had a mission to accomplish and for possibly the first time in his shinobi career, he couldn’t act based on his feelings anymore. So Naruto sorted out his thoughts, took his emotions, and put them in a box, which was pushed to the very corners of his heart. He couldn’t afford to break down, not now, when his entire team, all of his precious people, his entire village, and the entire Shinobi world depended on him.

Anyways, what year is it? Naruto wondered. First things first, I gotta go find Gramps. They had all agreed that it would be best to let the Sandaime in on the secret. Without someone in a position of power, Naruto would be hard pressed to do anything without catching the eye of a Hidden Village and getting eliminated.

Naruto cast a henge, suppressed his chakra, and walked off into the woods. As a child, he had often snuck out of the village to go exploring, or to escape the angry eyes and hate filled looks. Now Naruto was thankful for that, because he knew exactly where he could make it over the wall without being seen. The Yamanakas did have shinobi sensing for any unknown chakras at all times, but hopefully they wouldn’t look too hard at Naruto’s chakra, which was much larger than his younger self’s, but still familiar, seeing that his younger self was well known to goof off.

Naruto hopped over the wall with a small burst of chakra, and landed in an alleyway hidden in shadows. He walked out casually, making sure to walk heavily as a civilian would, and relax his stance. As he meandered his way to the administration building, the sounds and sights of Konoha enveloped his senses. How long had it been since he had seen this Konoha? Too long, Naruto mused. It was a nostalgic sight, and Naruto found himself smiling and greeting others that he passed in the street.

He caught a glimpse of a newspaper as he walked and was shocked to see the date. He had traveled three years into the future from his last stop. Naruto quickened his pace. He didn’t know if the seal would glitch again and send him flying another three years into the future, so now he really needed to see the Sandaime and soon.

Naruto reached the administrative building and slowed from his sprint to a walk. Most of the workers were pitiful chuunin that got stuck doing desk work so they wouldn’t be too shocked to see some shinobi or another sprint through, but Naruto needed to look as non-threatening as possible. He was about to open the door when he paused thoughtfully, remembering how complicated it was to get an official appointment with Kakashi-sensei when he became Hokage. And that was on the _battlefield_. Naruto glanced at the window and decided, _screw it. I’m going in._ He took a half step towards the window, and a split second later, he was balancing on the windowsill of the Hokage’s office, five Anbu flickering into defensive positions. Sarutobi Hiruzen merely raised an eyebrow. Naruto contemplated his choices for a second, then cast a simple genjutsu of him leaping away on the rooftops, and simultaneously releasing the genjutsu on his eyes to reveal striking cerulean blue. The Anbu didn’t move, but a glance from the Sandaime sent them off after the obviously fake Naruto.

“Well. You must be either very confident about your skills or very arrogant to come and challenge me face on like this,” the Sandaime said, looking amused. Naruto squinted at the old Hokage.

“Oi! Old man, have you gone senile?” he complained, releasing the genjutsu. He shot a bright smile at the Sandaime. “I’m not hostile, I swear! Get Inoichi-ossan in here if you don’t believe me.” The Sandaime smiled.

“Uzumaki Naruto, huh? Well then, tell me your story.” Naruto stared at him for a second before huffing out a laugh. The old Hokage always did seem to know everything. So Naruto sat down and told him everything.


	2. Chapter 2

Naruto’s voice grew hoarse as he spun his tale to an end. It was a rather long one. The Hokage stroked his beard with a contemplative expression.

“I see,” the Hokage said softly. He opened his arms. “You’ve done well, Naruto.”

Naruto stared at the old shinobi for a second, before letting out a strangled laugh. He rushed forward into the old man who had become like a grandfather to him, and crumbled. For the first time since the war started, he allowed himself to really grieve for his loved ones. It was lucky that Naruto had remembered to put up some privacy seals as well as some redirection seals, or everyone would have probably heard his sobs and unintelligible apologies from the Hokage’s office. After his sobs turned into hiccups and eventually silence, Naruto drew back and sat down on the floor heavily.

“So what’s your plan now?” Hiruzen asked. Naruto shrugged.

“Wait it out, assimilate in the village. There’s not much I can do. I only know what happened in my timeline, if I screw things up too much, I’ll lose the only advantage I have,” Naruto said, “By the way, Kakashi-sensei in my time came up with a cover story for me. For my appearance, I’ll use a henge until my hair grows out, and then I’ll dye it for convenience. I’ll need to change my name, but…” Naruto hesitated, “I’d like to keep my last name. There are a few Uzumakis still out there, so it won’t be too far a stretch.”

Hiruzen nodded. “That shouldn’t be too hard.”

“My cover story is that after the fall of Uzushiogakure, you found me and hid me because of my heritage until I was old enough. I then left the village under your orders to investigate the Akatsuki, which will explain my knowledge, and I’ve only just returned. Most of my cover story depends on you, hehe,” Naruto said sheepishly. Hiruzen just looked amused.

“Alright. Welcome back, Uzumaki Akio, jounin of Konohagakure,” he said. The newly dubbed ‘Akio’ grinned, and held his hands in the henge hand sign. There was a puff of smoke, and Akio’s whisker marks disappeared, replaced with smooth, unblemished skin. His hair was pulled back into a short ponytail, and messy bangs framed his face. His blue eyes were smiling, and his Konoha hitai-ate glinted in the light. 

“It’s good to be back, Hokage-sama.”

-

“So what am I actually going to do, Hokage-sama? I know where the Gedo Mazo Statue is, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea to destroy it yet. Black Zetsu might find another way to bring Kaguya back, one that we have no info on, and that would not be good. I don’t know what the Akatsuki are doing right now, so I’ll have to wait that out too. So for the time being… I have nothing to do,” Akio said with a grimace. Hiruzen chuckled as Akio went around disabling the privacy seals.

“Well first, we’ll have to call the council to introduce you, but in the meantime, how do you feel about being a jounin sensei, Akio-kun?” Hiruzen signaled to one of the Anbu, and Hound appeared, crouched in front of him. Akio openly gaped at the Anbu with silver gravity-defying hair.  _ Kakashi-sensei? I mean, I guess he’s not my sensei anymore. At least, this version isn’t. _ Hound twitched at the redhead’s obvious staring and let out a small amount of KI. Akio just snickered.

“Bring me Uchiha Itachi immediately,” Hiruzen said. Hound inclined his head slightly, and then he was gone. Akio blinked.

“Wait- Uchiha Itachi? Didn’t he graduate a while ago though? What happened to his team?” Akio asked. Hiruzen’s expression was somber.

“It seems that the Akatsuki has already got their eye on Itachi-kun. Uchiha Obito killed his team during their mission, and his jounin-sensei abandoned them. Itachi was the only survivor. I believe their intention was to awaken his Sharingan.” Akio fell silent.

“What are you going to do to his previous jounin sensei?” he asked, face stormy with fury. “And tell me his name so I can track him down and beat up that bastard.” Hiruzen opened his mouth to reply when there was a soft knock on the door.

“Enter,” Hiruzen called out. Uchiha Itachi opened the door and bowed.

“I was told you wanted to see me, Hokage-sama,” he said and straightened. The Sandaime smiled kindly.

“Yes. How have you been, Itachi-kun?” he asked. Itachi glanced at Akio, who smiled cheerfully at him.

“I have been well, thank you.” His reply was short.  _ Typical of an Uchiha _ , Akio thought with a wry smile. Hiruzen cleared his throat.

“The reason I have called you here, Itachi-kun, is to tell you that you are no longer under Yuki Minazuki’s command. I am reassigning you to be apprenticed under Uzumaki Akio.” Itachi’s eyes widened slightly, but that was the only sign of his surprise.

“Hai, Hokage-sama.” Akio smiled, stepping forward.

“Uchiha Itachi-kun, was it? Nice to meet you. Unfortunately, I’m busy today, but I’ll meet you at Training Ground 3 at seven am sharp tomorrow. Don’t be late!” Akio smiled, and disappeared with a shunshin. Itachi turned to look at the Hokage, who smiled with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

“I think you’ll come to like your new sensei, Itachi-kun. Dismissed.” Itachi bowed again.

“Hai, Hokage-sama.”

-

“I’m back,” Itachi called out as he took off his sandals. There was a pattering of tiny feet and Sasuke came barreling around the corner.

“Aniki!” he squealed. Itachi smiled.

“Hey otouto,” he said with a fond look. He walked into the kitchen to greet his mother.

“Itachi. Welcome back,” Mikoto said with a smile that Itachi responded with a nod.

“What did the Hokage want?” Fugaku demanded as he walked into the room.

“Dear…” Mikoto said. Itachi greeted him.

“Father. He summoned me to inform me that I have been reassigned to be apprenticed under a different jounin-sensei,” Itachi said. Fugaku raised an eyebrow.

“Oh? Good. You have nothing to learn from a coward.” A crease formed between Fugaku’s eyebrows. “Who is your new sensei?”

“Uzumaki Akio.” Fugaku and Mikoto glanced at each other.

“Uzumaki?” Fugaku asked. “I was under the impression there were no Uzumakis left in Konoha.”

“What is he like?” Mikoto asked. 

“He’s…” Itachi thought back to how Uzumaki Akio’s presence had filled the entire room, his deceivingly laid-back appearance masking the way he moved, with a deadly grace and assurance that came with knowing yourself inside and out, and his use of a shunshin, silent and so quick that it rivaled Shisui’s who was known for that technique specifically. “Powerful.”

The house fell silent, Sasuke looking back and forth between them. Fugaku stood.

“Learn all that you can from him, Itachi.” Itachi dipped his head.

“Hai, chichiue.”

-

The Sandaime made sure to send Shikaku out of the village on a mission before calling the council. The Jounin Commander was a trusted and wise advisor, but in this case, Hiruzen did not need him sticking his nose in and blowing Akio’s cover. He would brief Shikaku afterwards to satisfy him. The Nara head was just too sharp for his own good. Hiruzen walked into the council room to see some of the clan heads already at each other's throats. And by some, meaning Uchiha Fugaku and Hyuuga Hiashi. Inuzuka Tsume was laughing at them, Akimichi Chouza was eating (surprise surprise), and the elders were all looking down at them snootily as the civilian representative trembled. Hiruzen sighed. He really was getting too old for this. For goodness sake, he was already supposed to be retired!

Hiruzen cleared his throat and the room quieted down. “The reason I have called for this meeting is to inform everyone of a new jounin in our ranks.” Akio appeared in a swirl of leaves at a signal from the Sandaime.

“Uzumaki Akio. He’s been in hiding and travelling since the fall of Uzushiogakure but has made the decision to join our ranks. Of course, I have already taken sufficient precautionary measures…” At this, Yamanaka Inoichi narrowed his eyes, having not been informed. “Uzushiogakure was our mistake, and our old ally, and I expect him to be treated with the respect that any elite jounin would receive.” Akio eyed Shimura Danzo, the hawk-eyed old geezer, as he looked as if he was about to speak up, and let out a small cough. He caught Hiruzen’s eye and received a slight nod.

“Dismissed,” he said, not wanting to deal with ~~(his teammate, his _friend)_~~ this any longer.

-

Akio found a hotel to stay, handing over some money for a few nights. He would need to go shopping. When they had prepared for his journey back, Akio had been given almost all of their funds. He had tried to refuse, saying that he would just hunt some bounties, but they had insisted, and Akio had given in. So with his pockets full, he stepped out into the village, needing to be seen around to avoid any more suspicion. He was browsing the book store ( _ he _ had gotten Akio into reading, but  _ never  _ Icha Icha, he had enough of that from his shishou, thanks) when a silver head appeared in his peripheral vision.

“Yo.” Akio glanced over with a wry smile at the sight of Kakashi being younger and shorter than him.

“Hello,” he said. It was rather strange for Kakashi to be the first to initiate contact, but he was probably curious from the glimpse in the Hokage’s office.

“Looking for something specific?” he asked, and then added casually, “I come here a lot.” Akio snorted.  _ I’ll bet you do. _

“Looking for an author named Jiraiya,” Akio said. Kakashi perked up, and then narrowed his eye suspiciously.

“Right over there,” he said, pointing to the shelf where there were indeed many copies of Icha Icha, and two copies of the book Akio was looking for. He slid the book out and smiled.

“The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi?” Kakashi asked, interested, “Wasn’t the book I thought you were going for.” Akio laughed.

“I’m well aware of what kind of other books Jiraiya writes. I was looking for this book in particular for more… sentimental reasons.” Kakashi narrowed his eye thoughtfully, but didn’t comment as Akio paid, and left the shop. They strolled down the street together in comfortable silence, and Akio grinned as he noticed Maito Gai. Gai also noticed him and Kakashi. They could hear him from way down the street, and Akio sensed Kakashi flinching as Gai came sprinting towards them. Uzumaki Akio let out a bright laugh. It was good to be back in Konoha.


End file.
